Apparatus for handling elongated articles



Ma's.

Feb. 5, 1963 w. A. PITTS 3,076,562

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING ELONGATED ARTICLES Filed Dec. 7, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Feb. 5, 1963 w. A. PIT-A's APPARATUS FOR HANDLING ELONGATED ARTICLES 2 Sheets--Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 7, 1959 IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent 3,076,562 APPARATUS FOR HANDLING ELONGATED ARTICLES William A. Pitts, 1620 South Carolina St., Tulsa, Okla. Filed Dec. 7, 1959, Ser. No. 857,910 3 Claims. (Cl. 214-1).

The present invention relates to apparatus for handling elongated articles, and more particularly to such apparatus for aiding in the transfer of such articles from horizontal to vertical positions and vice versa. The present invention is useful in various environments, and has particular utility in gas and oil well drilling and servicing operations, in which it is necessary to move elongated articles such as lengths of casing or tubing or sucker rods to and from rig elevators and pipe racks and in connection with small rotary drilling units for handling drill pipe or the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for handling elongated articles, in which the articles may be received from an elevator and placed on racks or removed from racks and placed on an elevator with the aid of only a single workman.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of such apparatus which protects the articles from dirt and abrasive wear during handling.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of such apparatus which need not be power driven but which is powered by movement of the article itself.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of such apparatus which prevents damage to the articles from falling.

Finally, it is the object of the present invention to provide such apparatus which will be relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy to operate, maintain and repair, and rugged and durable in use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of apparatus according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged elevational view of one end of the device;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the device showing the dolly;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side crosssectional view of one end of the device showing the cushioning roller;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side crosssectional view showing the operation of the retractable rollers;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the operation of the laterally swinging rollers;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing the structure of FIGURES 5 and 6; and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of that end of the device which carries the cushioning roller and the control pedals.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown apparatus for handling elongated articles, comprising an elon ated frame 1 adapted to rest on the ground on skids 3. Frame 1 includes a pair of parallel horizontal I-beams 5 extending lengthwise thereof along its upper portion. A dolly 7 is supported at either side on pairs of wheels 9 which ride on the lower inner flanges of I-beams 5. Dolly 7 includes a support 11 for one end of an article to be handled. A cable 13 dead ends at both ends on dolly 7 to provide an endless flexible memher for moving dolly 7 back and forth along the flanges of I-beams 5. Cable 13 is reeved about sheaves 15 mounted for rotation about vertical axes and one disposed 3,076,562 Patented Feb. 5, 1963 at each end of one of I-beams 5. Thus, dolly 7 may be drawn back and forth lengthwise of frame 1 and carries a central roller 17 mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis for supporting an article to be handled. A depressed portion 19 of the lower inner flanges of I- beams 5 at one end thereof provides a stop for dolly 7.

At the same end of frame 1 as depressed portion 19 is a roller 21 with which the article may have rolling contact, mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis. A similar roller 23 is disposed at the other end of frame 1 but is mounted in an entirely different manner. Roller 23 is journaled for rotation about a horizontal axis on a vertically slidable support 25 which in turn is supported on a vertically slidable subframe 27 by means of a vertical rod 29 unitary with support 25 and slidably received in an opening through subframe 27 and continuously upwardly urged by means of a coil compression spring 31 disposed between support 25 and subframe 27. A rocker cam 33 is mounted for vertical swinging movement about a horizontal axis on frame 1 and has a cam face which spirals outward counter-clockwise from that axis as seen in FIGURE 4. Cam 33 has a slot 35 therethrough for the reception of the lower end of rod 29, so that the lower surface of subframe 2.7 may have sliding contact with the cam face of rocker cam 33. A foot pedal 37 serves to turn cam 33 and hence to move roller 23 up or down as desired.

Further article supporting means are provided by rollers 39, each supported for rotation about a generally horizontal axis on mountings 41. A plurality of rollers 39 is provided spaced apart lengthwise of frame 1. The lower edges of mountings 41 are rounded to provide pivot edges 43 disposed for pivotal movement in pivot seats 45 on brackets 47. The axis of pivotal movement between edges 43 and seats 45 is about a pair of parallel ivotal axes disposed in a common horizontal plane, these pivotal axes extending parallel to the length of frame 1. Each bracket 47 is mounted on a rock shaft 49 for vertical swinging movement about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the length of frame 1. A crank arm 51 is secured to and projects laterally from each rock shaft 49, and an operating rod 53 interconnects the free ends of crank arms 51 with an end of an arm of a bell crank 55 disposed at the same end of frame 1 as pedal 37.

Mounted on each bracket 47 is a pair of vertical sleeves 57 within each of which is disposed for vertical sliding movement a rod 59 projecting beyond the associated sleeve 57 at each end thereof. A cam 61 underlies each rod 59, the lower end of the rod riding on the cam. Each cam 61 has an inclined upper cam face and is mounted in appropriate slideways for longitudinal sliding movement lengthwise of frame 1. To this end, a cam rod 63 is attached to each cam 61; and cam control pedals 65 are provided for moving cams 61 lengthwise of frame 1 by means of cam rods 63. It should especially be noted that one rod 59 is disposed adjacent and contacts the underside of each side of each bracket 47. A rod 67 is pivotally mounted on the underside of each bracket 47 and extends through an opening in a web between the two associated sleeves 57. A coil compression spring 69 acts between the outer end of the rod and the underside of that web continuously to draw rod 67 downward to maintain the associated bracket 47 on seats 45 or the upper ends of rods 59, as the case may be.

The operation of the device is as follows:

With rollers 39 in the dotted line position shown in FIGURE 5 and roller 23 in the full line position of FIG- URE 4 and dolly 7 in the position of FIGURE 1, an elongated article 71 such as a length of pipe as seen in FIGURE 6 is lowered in vertical position and its lower end guided onto support 11 of dolly 7. As the article is further lowered, it pushes dolly 7 lengthwise along frame 1 to the left as seen in FIGURE 1. Rollers 39 are depressedand do .not, interfere withthis movement. Then, when dolly 7 reaches the opposite end of frame 1, it is positively stopped and the retailing end of article 71 is dropped .and falls on raised roller 23, which acts as a bumper and resiliently absorbs the shock of the fall.

, Rollers 3 9 are then raised to the full line position shown in FIGURE 5 by manipulation of crank 55, which moves operating rod 53 to swing crank arms 51 to turn rock shafts 49 to raise rollers 39 about the axes of those rock shafts into 'a position in which they are higher than roller, 17,of dolly 7 and roller 21. roller 23 is then loweredbydepre'ssing foot pedal 37 from the position shown inFlGURE 4 to the dotted line position shown therein, so that roller, 23 is then lower than rollers 39. In this position, article 71 frests solely on rollers 39.

To remove the article from rollers 39 and to cause it to roll sideways Onto an adjacent pipe rack or the like (no t,fshow;n)',. it is necessary, onlyto actuate a selected p dal.65 to raise thelcorresponding ends of rollers 39. ,Actuationof .ape'dal 65 moves the associated cam rod v vto.actuate the cams 61 on oneside of the device, so as to, raise rods59, to, lift one pivot edge 43 from its associated Tseat 45, the fother' s'eait 45fon the other side of the machine .providing a piv'otal se'at for its associated pivot edge 43, 'which remains in contact with that'seat. This movement ,pr'ovidesjfor vertical swinging movement of mountings T41 and rollers 39 about either'of a pair of spaced parallel horizontal axes sofas to 'enable'discharge to either side of thedevice as desired, the verticaljswinging movement U impartedthe mountings 41 and rollers 39 causes these elementspot only to pivot about horizontal axes but also to have a 'eoi'nponent'of verticalmovement so that the miners caused to roll otfrollers 39 and onto an adjjace'nt'side frame ithoutinterference. The importance of making therollers concave, that is, of general hourglass configuration, will therefore be apparent.

To use this device for thereve'rse operation, that is, to

aid'in removing articlesfrom a rack such as a pipe rack tandfeedingthe'm one by one to an elevator or the like, dolly 7 is left at the end of thedevice'as shown in FIG- URE Z and r'o'llers 39 again lowered by manipulation of hellcrankSSiand roller 23 raised by manipulation of foot *peaaiszso that the article is initially 'suppor'ted'on dolly 7 and roller 23. As the article is raised by its end adjacent roll'er123, however, dolly 7 is pulled toward that end or framel 'by' the 'supported'end 'of' the articleuntil dolly .7 has "reached that end of theframe'and the trailing end of the article" has parted fromdolly 7. Thereafter, the operation may be repeated for receiving another vertically disposed article'being lowered onto'dolly 7.

Of cours'e, the same operation can be repeated for, say, racking a number of articles, bydrawingdolly 7 toward thesarne end of 'the' device as roller 23, by manipulation .of cable 13. Also, 'the reverse operation of unracking and feeding'ar'ticles canbe'repeatedly performed.

From a consideration of the foregoing, it will be obvious that all of the initially recited objects of the present invention have been achieved.

It is to be understood that the appended claims are to be accorded a range of equivalents commensurate in scope with the advance made over the prior art.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for handling elongated articles, comprising an elongated frame, a cradle for supporting an elongated article on and lengthwise of the frame, and means for rocking said cradle selectively about either of a pair of parallel, laterally spaced-apart axes extending lengthwise of said elongated frame, said means comprising a pair of upwardly open, concavely rounded seats extending parallel to each other lengthwise of the frame and one disposed adjacent either side of the frame, the cradle having a pair of complementarily rounded, downwardly extending pivot portions that rest in the seats, each pivot portion turning in its seat about an axis parallel to the length of the frame, said means including means for selectively swinging the cradle about one said axis up and to one side of the frame to discharge an elongated article to said one side of the frame, and means for selectively swinging the cradle about the other said axis up and to the other side of the frame to discharge an elongated article to said other side of the frame.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and a rotatable horizontal shaft perpendicular to the length 'of the frame,

lel rods extending through and slidable relative to the shaft and engageable with the crade one adjacent each said pivot portion, and means for independently selectivelymoving each ma through the shaft toward the'cradle thereby selectively to swing the-cradle up and to either side of the frame.

Referen'cesCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,632,204 Threefoot'et al. June 14, 1927 1,829,879 Stephens Nov. 3, 1931 2,113,270 Hall et-al. Apr. 5, 1938 2,535,979 'Witte Dec. 26, 1950 2,582,329 Harter et al. Jan. 15, 1952 2,589,181 Yount Mar. 11, 1952 2,630,909 Marriotte Mar. 10, 1953 2,656,052 Tucker Oct. 20, 1953 2,865,522 Peterson et al. Dec. 23, 1958 2,900,091 Minter Aug. 18, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,106,483 France ..a July 20, 1955 

1. APPARATUS FOR HANDLING ELONGATED ARTICLES, COMPRISING AN ELONGATED FRAME, A CRADLE FOR SUPPORTING AN ELONGATED ARTICLE ON AND LENGTHWISE OF THE FRAME, AND MEANS FOR ROCKING SAID CRADLE SELECTIVELY ABOUT EITHER OF A PAIR OF PARALLEL, LATERALLY SPACED-APART AXES EXTENDING LENGTHWISE OF SAID ELONGATED FRAME, SAID MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF UPWARDLY OPEN, CONCAVELY ROUNDED SEATS EXTENDING PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER LENGTHWISE OF THE FRAME AND ONE DISPOSED ADJACENT EITHER SIDE OF THE FRAME, THE CRADLE HAVING A PAIR OF COMPLEMENTARILY ROUNDED, DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING PIVOT PORTIONS THAT REST IN THE SEATS, EACH PIVOT PORTION TURNING IN ITS SEAT ABOUT AN AXIS PARALLEL TO THE LENGTH OF THE FRAME, SAID MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY SWINGING THE CRADLE ABOUT ONE SAID AXIS UP AND TO ONE SIDE OF THE FRAME TO DISCHARGE AN ELONGATED ARTICLE TO SAID ONE SIDE OF THE FRAME, AND MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY SWINGING THE CRADLE ABOUT THE OTHER SAID AXIS UP AND TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FRAME TO DISCHARGE AN ELONGATED ARTICLE TO SAID OTHER SIDE OF THE FRAME. 